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sheshe2

(83,355 posts)
Thu May 7, 2015, 05:19 PM May 2015

IF ONLY WE WERE ASHAMED

This seems like a feel-good story, but it doesn't make me feel good:

Comedian Stephen Colbert announced Thursday that he would fund every existing grant request South Carolina public school teachers have made on the education crowdfunding website DonorsChoose.org....

Colbert partnered with Share Fair Nation and ScanSource to fund nearly 1,000 projects for more than 800 teachers at over 375 schools, totaling $800,000....

snip

Is this a heartwarming story? Yeah, I guess -- but to me it's heartbreaking that teachers in the richest country on earth have to beg for balls to use at recess or therapeutic equipment for special-ed kids.


snip

If we had a proper sense of values in this country, we'd never want something like this to go public, even if it really was the only way the kids could get what they need. We wouldn't want it known that we weren't doing right by the next generation.

Read More http://nomoremister.blogspot.com/2015/05/if-only-we-were-ashamed.html

I thank Stephen Colbert. However, I am pretty ashamed of this Country, it seems we have lost our souls.
67 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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IF ONLY WE WERE ASHAMED (Original Post) sheshe2 May 2015 OP
Exactly as I feel, K&R AuntPatsy May 2015 #1
I think a good majority of us are... ScreamingMeemie May 2015 #2
Oh, I agree with you on that, ScreamingMeemie. sheshe2 May 2015 #5
You are right. ScreamingMeemie May 2015 #8
I am suspicious of the vote counts. Remember when they stopped polling? newthinking May 2015 #38
Every year when school starts there is a school bus upaloopa May 2015 #3
I find that sad, upaloopa, this too. sheshe2 May 2015 #7
My granddaughters' school brer cat May 2015 #15
Hey you, brer cat. Agreed, they can't pay attention or learn when.... sheshe2 May 2015 #19
We're turning our backs on our future when we turn our backs on our children's education. herding cats May 2015 #4
well, some schools aren't like this NJCher May 2015 #6
Property taxes more than my salary? Those must be some awesome houses. Ed Suspicious May 2015 #9
Average rate is beteen .6 and 2% depending on state newthinking May 2015 #39
K&R secondwind May 2015 #10
I absolutely agree. This is why is so very necessary to not only stop the drain of the 99%'s rhett o rick May 2015 #11
Thanks Rhett, yes we do need to turn that around, sheshe2 May 2015 #21
So much work ahead of us.... daleanime May 2015 #25
Yes, so much work, daleanime. sheshe2 May 2015 #30
They absolutely go hand in hand. Thanks for posting sheshe. rhett o rick May 2015 #33
Thank you Rhett... sheshe2 May 2015 #40
The nation adopted Ayn Randism. Enthusiast May 2015 #12
The politicians have, that's for sure. nt mother earth May 2015 #14
K & R nt okaawhatever May 2015 #13
KnR Hekate May 2015 #16
I taught and retired from The Jersey City, NJ. Public school system. Hoppy May 2015 #17
Very well said sheshe2. lovemydog May 2015 #18
Love you~ sheshe2 May 2015 #22
Love you too! lovemydog May 2015 #24
Kick valerief May 2015 #20
In the meantime... Tierra_y_Libertad May 2015 #23
+200 billion lovemydog May 2015 #28
A brazillion BrotherIvan May 2015 #51
And local fund raising matt819 May 2015 #26
Teaparty hates education and anyone educated. NoJusticeNoPeace May 2015 #27
One trillion in war related spending each year does not leave much guillaumeb May 2015 #29
Oh yup, that old trickle down. sheshe2 May 2015 #36
.... diabeticman May 2015 #31
HEAR HERE Dr. Xavier May 2015 #32
K&R CharlotteVale May 2015 #34
Huge K & R !!! - Thank You !!! WillyT May 2015 #35
K&R BumRushDaShow May 2015 #37
I know, is not just one state, sad multiples. sheshe2 May 2015 #41
When I first graduated from college BumRushDaShow May 2015 #42
I truly love you BRDS~ sheshe2 May 2015 #44
Big hug back BumRushDaShow May 2015 #55
I don't like stories like this because they support the 1%'s meme that... WhaTHellsgoingonhere May 2015 #43
What? sheshe2 May 2015 #45
How can you shame the shameless? WhaTHellsgoingonhere May 2015 #46
K~ sheshe2 May 2015 #48
I absolutely agree with you. niyad May 2015 #47
I got an error message~ sheshe2 May 2015 #49
it was just an image of a bumper sticker with that saying. will see if I can find another. niyad May 2015 #50
Here BumRushDaShow May 2015 #56
thank you. niyad May 2015 #61
I have long been ashamed... Thespian2 May 2015 #52
K&R! Omaha Steve May 2015 #53
Thank Os! sheshe2 May 2015 #54
The right wing goons will use this story as a way to avoid paying taxes d_legendary1 May 2015 #57
So true Fairgo May 2015 #58
We could properly fund our schools abelenkpe May 2015 #59
Does feelling ashamed solve the problem? snappyturtle May 2015 #60
Agreed. Teachers having to beg for supplies is heartbreaking and shameful Pooka Fey May 2015 #62
we let 1000 radio stations excuse and rationalize certainot May 2015 #63
this country lost heaven05 May 2015 #64
Yes! Fantastic Anarchist May 2015 #65
Well, SOME of us are ashamed, sheshe2... calimary May 2015 #66
MA, is not without sin either, calimary. sheshe2 May 2015 #67

ScreamingMeemie

(68,918 posts)
2. I think a good majority of us are...
Thu May 7, 2015, 05:24 PM
May 2015

however, Stephen Colbert is an incredible human. We haven't lost our souls. Those who "represent" us have.

and... it IS a heartwarming story, I don't guess it is...

And I think Stephen did a FINE job of shaming TPTB for those of us who can't.

sheshe2

(83,355 posts)
5. Oh, I agree with you on that, ScreamingMeemie.
Thu May 7, 2015, 05:29 PM
May 2015
We haven't lost our souls. Those who "represent" us have.


I will add to those who "represent", those that vote them into office again and again.

Thank you for your response.

newthinking

(3,982 posts)
38. I am suspicious of the vote counts. Remember when they stopped polling?
Thu May 7, 2015, 08:06 PM
May 2015

And there still has been nothing done to verify the code in many state's voting machines (proprietary).

upaloopa

(11,417 posts)
3. Every year when school starts there is a school bus
Thu May 7, 2015, 05:24 PM
May 2015

parked at the local Walmart for people to buy and fill with school supplies. I think it is sad that we have to do that.

sheshe2

(83,355 posts)
7. I find that sad, upaloopa, this too.
Thu May 7, 2015, 05:39 PM
May 2015

Teachers Spend Own Money On Necessity Items For Their Students: Report (SLIDESHOW)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/23/survey-many-teachers-repo_n_1822777.html

Hero Teachers Feed Kids Out of Their Own Pockets


The day's lesson isn't the first thing on Marvin Callahan's mind after the first school bell rings. Instead, the Albuquerque, New Mexico, teacher wonders whether his students have eaten.

His routine begins by asking each one of his first-grade pupils what her or she ate for breakfast that morning.

"I have kids that come to school every day, and they're hungry. They come to school, and they're just unsure," said the Comanche Elementary School teacher. "I have seen it with my own eyes,"

Every day, the 20-year veteran teacher spends a chunk of his own salary to feed hungry kids in his classroom. For the kid who came to school on an empty stomach, Callahan either sends the child to the cafeteria or simply walks over to the supply closet behind his desk for some food. Many teachers use $40 a month of their own cash to buy supplemental food for these hungry children.

More

http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/making-a-difference/hero-teachers-feed-kids-out-their-own-pockets-n192861

brer cat

(24,402 posts)
15. My granddaughters' school
Thu May 7, 2015, 06:18 PM
May 2015

provides free breakfast with no "qualifying" or questions asked. I have heard people complain about their tax dollars feeding kids whose parents are "too lazy" to feed them before they leave home. Total BS. Many of those children are from homes without enough food to go around, and the school meals are the only way to make ends meet. How can anyone expect children to pay attention and learn if they are hungry? It makes me so angry. Any one who begrudges food for a child is despicable.

sheshe2

(83,355 posts)
19. Hey you, brer cat. Agreed, they can't pay attention or learn when....
Thu May 7, 2015, 06:53 PM
May 2015
How can anyone expect children to pay attention and learn if they are hungry? It makes me so angry. Any one who begrudges food for a child is despicable.


I agree. This makes me cry. 16 cents.

The $800,000 in projects Colbert is funding could have been funded by an extra 16 cents in taxes per South Carolina resident. Why is that too much to ask?


Kudos to your granddaughters school as well.

Two, sweet teachers in my family, young ones. Love them both. One a few years ago took her students to an Obama speech. I can't remember what grade, pretty young, they were to short to see much, she told them to hold up their ipads, that the school provides so that they could watch.

My now, 88 year old mom has worked the food pantry for years, small town. She only recently stopped due to illness. The market in town collects food for them, and they themselves are very, very generous in their donations.

Love you.

herding cats

(19,549 posts)
4. We're turning our backs on our future when we turn our backs on our children's education.
Thu May 7, 2015, 05:25 PM
May 2015

I don't know how the average American isn't outraged by this, but most are not.

NJCher

(35,432 posts)
6. well, some schools aren't like this
Thu May 7, 2015, 05:31 PM
May 2015

I am doing some work in the school system in my town and the teachers want for nothing. Every school I have seen in the system (and it is a large system) is very well equipped. Supplies are in abundance. There is no shortage of help. In one special ed class I visited, there were 8 children and 6 aids plus a teacher.

It's a matter of paying the price. The property taxes to fund this are around $15,000 a year on an average 3-bedroom house.



Cher

newthinking

(3,982 posts)
39. Average rate is beteen .6 and 2% depending on state
Thu May 7, 2015, 08:14 PM
May 2015

Real estate tax rates vary greatly but even the highest is under 2%.

I agree, we can't cut tax revenue as we have in the last 30 years and expect things not to fall apart. But we also need to decrease administrative salaries in many states.

Administrative staff can live like the rest of us.

 

rhett o rick

(55,981 posts)
11. I absolutely agree. This is why is so very necessary to not only stop the drain of the 99%'s
Thu May 7, 2015, 05:58 PM
May 2015

financial resources to the 1%, but we need to turn it around and make them pay their fair share. As I believe you said earlier, there should be no reason for charity. We need jobs.

sheshe2

(83,355 posts)
21. Thanks Rhett, yes we do need to turn that around,
Thu May 7, 2015, 07:11 PM
May 2015

yet not at the expense of social justice. They go hand in hand. We need it all and we sure as hell needed it yesterday. If they do not go hand and hand then we got nothing. What good is one without the other?

Yup, I have said we need jobs. We need them at a living wage. We also need to stop discriminating against women and people of color. We all need a fair wage as well. Equal pay for equal work. NOW! Women and PoC matter.

We have age discrimination in the work place, that has to stop. We have people with disabilities being let go from their jobs....yes, they always find a reason which of course has nothing to do do with said disabilities.

So for me, they go hand and hand for me. Social Justice and Financial Justice.

sheshe2

(83,355 posts)
30. Yes, so much work, daleanime.
Thu May 7, 2015, 07:52 PM
May 2015

We can do this. I know we can.

The younger players need to came to bat, and I believe they are.

Lol~ I ain't getting any younger here.

You know the saying...Only the Good Die Young. Not really true. My mom at 88 has worked the food pantry for a zillion years, only stopped recently due to illness.

Thank you.

 

Hoppy

(3,595 posts)
17. I taught and retired from The Jersey City, NJ. Public school system.
Thu May 7, 2015, 06:40 PM
May 2015

Any supplies or equipment I could think of, I could ask for it and it would be in my classroom. The shame of it was that the kids' home lives weren't always sufficient... Homelessness, alcoholic parents and so forth.

lovemydog

(11,833 posts)
18. Very well said sheshe2.
Thu May 7, 2015, 06:53 PM
May 2015

We must get representatives who represent the good-spirited people who believe in full funding public education!

lovemydog

(11,833 posts)
28. +200 billion
Thu May 7, 2015, 07:29 PM
May 2015

The cost that we could take from military spending and put into education. It's amazing when one looks at that chart. All the politicians argue about all those tiny slices of pie. While the majority of the pie - the genuine hogs who take more than half of the entire friggin taxpayer money - is soundly and repeatedly ignored. That should change! We should have a peacetime economy. Peace and prosperity at home and abroad!

matt819

(10,749 posts)
26. And local fund raising
Thu May 7, 2015, 07:27 PM
May 2015

For medical care - we see the collection cans in local convenience stores. There's a lot to be ashamed of.

NoJusticeNoPeace

(5,018 posts)
27. Teaparty hates education and anyone educated.
Thu May 7, 2015, 07:28 PM
May 2015

THey admire people who are dumb and brag about it.

Teachers they hate the most, because you know they get summers off and only work til 3 each day

They dont know what a teacher actually does, but they dont care

guillaumeb

(42,641 posts)
29. One trillion in war related spending each year does not leave much
Thu May 7, 2015, 07:40 PM
May 2015

for schools and other things. We have to prioritize sheshe, and the war budget comes first.

Plus we have to keep taxes very low on the job creators you know.

Excellent post, by the way.

sheshe2

(83,355 posts)
36. Oh yup, that old trickle down.
Thu May 7, 2015, 08:01 PM
May 2015
Plus we have to keep taxes very low on the job creators you know.


It is time, guillaumeb. I do believe I will hit the next person that says they won't vote upside the head. No, I am not a violent person, I have seen enough of that in my lifetime. Yet we have to vote.

Thank you for your post~

Dr. Xavier

(278 posts)
32. HEAR HERE
Thu May 7, 2015, 07:55 PM
May 2015

My wife's a teacher, a library teacher, she has won awards at every school, she has ever taught in and her libraries are considered the centerpiece of the schools. I am very proud of her but she has to bust her rear end to raise money to buy books. I see her colleagues, mostly women, who could be running multi-million dollar corporations because of their brains and talent; but who chose education and are having trouble making ends meet. It is PATHETIC.

BumRushDaShow

(127,317 posts)
37. K&R
Thu May 7, 2015, 08:06 PM
May 2015

It's is sad. And note that this is just for one state. Multiply that x 49 other states in the same or worse shape.

sheshe2

(83,355 posts)
41. I know, is not just one state, sad multiples.
Thu May 7, 2015, 08:51 PM
May 2015

When the hell are we going to wake up

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/23/survey-many-teachers-repo_n_1822777.html

It's a practice that isn't uncommon in the nation's schools. In fact, 73 percent of teachers have hungry students in their classes, according to a report issued in 2013 by the advocacy group No Kid Hungry.

For two years, New Mexico has ranked No. 1 state in childhood hunger, with 1 in 3 children growing up without a steady supply of food. More than 60 percent of the students qualify for the federal free or reduced-priced lunch program at Callahan's school.

Hey, BRDS, do you think we will they ever wake up?

BumRushDaShow

(127,317 posts)
42. When I first graduated from college
Thu May 7, 2015, 09:06 PM
May 2015

while looking for a job in my field, I actually signed up to be a substitute teacher in the Philly school system. Since I had a science degree, I was in demand in the junior high and high schools, and the schools that I was sent to (and later became a long-term sub at) were the very types of schools being discussed here - i.e., in the poorest parts of the city with the most need for subs. I had classes with 40 students, kids falling asleep in the back of the room etc. Many of the kids were literally just a year or two younger than me at the time. I brought in my own materials to use to teach (and worked the mimeograph like the dickens! LOL). I opened up closets and cabinets full of books and scientific experiment kits that none of the previous teachers bothered to break the wrapping off of, and the kids were grateful that someone "cared". Before I left for my permanent job in my field, I had kids who were cutting other classes to be in mine. From their standpoint, they were looking for someone who appreciated them, gave them the correct amount of discipline, and could relate and show them what they were missing out on. And this was over 30 years ago.

I's like a broken record in school systems... even when I was in the public schools, and it's only gotten worse.

But sometimes when the pendulum has swung so far to one side, it eventually is going to snap and go back the other way. It's just a matter of getting it moving.

sheshe2

(83,355 posts)
44. I truly love you BRDS~
Thu May 7, 2015, 09:16 PM
May 2015
Before I left for my permanent job in my field, I had kids who were cutting other classes to be in mine. From their standpoint, they were looking for someone who appreciated them, gave them the correct amount of discipline, and could relate and show them what they were missing out on. And this was over 30 years ago.


Someone to appreciate them. Someone who actually cares. You brought it to the poorest. I so thank you for that.

And~

But sometimes when the pendulum has swung so far to one side, it eventually is going to snap and go back the other way. It's just a matter of getting it moving.


I just hope it is in my lifetime.



BumRushDaShow

(127,317 posts)
55. Big hug back
Fri May 8, 2015, 04:58 AM
May 2015


These children are human beings. I tried to give them something to look forward to when coming to school as sadly, many had to deal with harrowing experiences at home or even on the way to school.
 

WhaTHellsgoingonhere

(5,252 posts)
43. I don't like stories like this because they support the 1%'s meme that...
Thu May 7, 2015, 09:09 PM
May 2015

"charities" will provide the social safety net, ergo no one will slip through the cracks.

sheshe2

(83,355 posts)
45. What?
Thu May 7, 2015, 09:21 PM
May 2015
I don't like stories like this because they support the 1%'s meme that..."charities" will provide the social safety net, ergo no one will slip through the cracks.


Supporting? Nope. It is shaming all of them. For all those that are slipping through the cracks.
 

WhaTHellsgoingonhere

(5,252 posts)
46. How can you shame the shameless?
Thu May 7, 2015, 09:30 PM
May 2015

You can't.

They'll just say, "See, we told you. 'Charities' will provide the safety net. That's what we've been saying all along. Now stop taxing us!"

niyad

(112,435 posts)
47. I absolutely agree with you.
Thu May 7, 2015, 09:38 PM
May 2015

I used to wear a tee shirt with this on it whenever the recruiters came around. pissed them off for some reason!


It will be a great day when our schools have all the money they need, and our air force has to have a bake-sale to buy a bomber.

Robert Fulghum

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/robertfulg389087.html#pkfdjUiui0DWP1k8.99


Thespian2

(2,741 posts)
52. I have long been ashamed...
Thu May 7, 2015, 10:53 PM
May 2015

when the NC legislature was with-holding pay raises for teachers, we independently spent our money to make sure our classrooms had adequate materials...Cost were rather high for us each August

d_legendary1

(2,586 posts)
57. The right wing goons will use this story as a way to avoid paying taxes
Fri May 8, 2015, 10:11 AM
May 2015

since to them "charity" is a better alternative than paying taxes and funding our commons. Remeber when Zuckerburg and a bunch of billionaires gave 0.01% of their fortunes to schools in Newark, New Jersey? How did that work out? Unbelievable...

abelenkpe

(9,933 posts)
59. We could properly fund our schools
Fri May 8, 2015, 10:50 AM
May 2015

If we made corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes. Who's going to push for that?

 

certainot

(9,090 posts)
63. we let 1000 radio stations excuse and rationalize
Fri May 8, 2015, 01:50 PM
May 2015

this kind of crap all day long on a national level- that is the main reason there is no national shame

 

heaven05

(18,124 posts)
64. this country lost
Fri May 8, 2015, 02:44 PM
May 2015

it's collective soul a long time ago...and it's just getting worse. Those who say "we haven't lost our soul, those who represent us have", who voted them in? nuff said. We should be ashamed. Colbert did well, yet the problem, as you intimated, goes much deeper.

Fantastic Anarchist

(7,309 posts)
65. Yes!
Fri May 8, 2015, 05:03 PM
May 2015

I don't even have the little bastards, but it's goddamn shame to deprive them of being a kid.

Yes, in the richest country in the world, we're severely lacking.

calimary

(80,700 posts)
66. Well, SOME of us are ashamed, sheshe2...
Fri May 8, 2015, 05:08 PM
May 2015

I'm crushingly ashamed. I'm ashamed of the voters who somehow see fit to send idiots and jerks like ted cruz and louie gohmert to higher office (I'm talking about YOU, Texas!!!) and that IIIIIIIDIIIIIIOT james inhofe, and scott walker and chris christie and mitch mcconnell and paul ryan and joni ernst and rick scott and sarah palin and sam brownback and mike pence and the rest of that human scum up to higher office, too.

Hell, I'm ashamed for my beloved California! Because WE stuck this country with the likes of ronald reagan, richard nixon, ahnold, darrell issa, dana rohrabacher, and that FUCKED howard jarvis shell game Proposition 13 back in 1978. That's where the shit really started hitting the fan from out here - spreading like a frickin' cancer or swarm of locusts across the rest of America. HIDEOUS! I take very little comfort from the whole idea of having NOT voted for any of them, myself. But WAY too many others did.

sheshe2

(83,355 posts)
67. MA, is not without sin either, calimary.
Fri May 8, 2015, 06:54 PM
May 2015

We practically gave our beloved Teddy Kennedy's seat to Scott Brown. Now here we go again another R Governor Charlie Baker. Don't forget, shudder, RMoney as well.

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